Keir Starmer visits Bollington and backs Macclesfield candidate

Sir Keir Starmer was in Bollington today, one week before Macclesfield goes to the polls in the general election.

The Labour leader - who could become Britain's next prime minister - visited The Vale Inn on Adlington Road.

Sir Keir Starmer arrived at 5:30pm, at the Bollington Brewing Company pub.

Sir Keir shares a laugh with Labour members.

As well as his endorsement towards the local pub, Sir Keir also backed the Labour candidate Tim Roca, who could become Macclesfield's first-ever Labour MP.

Sir Keir called Mr Roca a 'brilliant candidate'.

Macclesfield Nub News questioned both Sir Keir and Mr Roca, regarding the new 'grey belt' police they have outlined in their manifesto. The definition of such, was recently criticised for being loose by the Green Party.

Labour candidates from other nearby constituencies like Hazel Grove, Congleton and Tatton were also in attendance for Mr Starmer's visit.

"We want to build 1.5 million homes, because at the moment young people are [in their] mid-30s before they can actually get on the housing ladder, so the dream of home ownership is as good as gone for them," said Sir Keir.

"Mainly I think they could be on brownfield sites, certainly because a lot of areas where we have quite dense housebuilding.

"We don't want to concrete over the countryside, we want to protect our countryside, we believe in our countryside. Labour governments have always protected the countryside.

Macclesfield has never been a Labour seat.

"But the truth is that we do build on the green belt at the moment, it is just a 'wild west'.

"The developers get to choose where we build, we don't have the infrastructure around it, so for many people what their concern is, it is green belt and there isn't the GPs, the schools, the infrastructure you need around housing.

"So in conjunction with local people, local communities, we will occasionally [work] with what we call the grey belt.

Local Labour supporters photographed listening to the candidate for Holborn and St Pancras.

"And what I mean by that, there are areas of old carparks, disused buildings.

"There are examples that I have seen of buildings going up on playing fields because they were not in the greenbelt, rather than a carpark which was in the green belt. And that is not sensible.

"It has to be done with local communities, and they need to be assured that the health provisions, schooling provisions, education provisions are available to them."

Tim Roca (left) is one of seven candidates standing in Macclesfield for the July 4 election.

Tim Roca added: "We are very lucky here in Macclesfield that we have more brownfield sites than any other part of the Cheshire East borough area, and of course the Town Council released its strategy, which it hopes to work with Cheshire East Council on. And there is a lot of town centre living opportunities for us."

"We are actually in a good place here, brownfield first, but there are other things as [Sir] Keir says."

As a follow-up question, Macclesfield Nub News asked for Tim Roca's stance on 'SAVE DANES MOSS', a grassroots campaign to prevent 950 homes and a link road being built on the fringes of the Danes Moss Nature Reserve.

Sir Keir and Mr Roca also gave a speech in the beer garden to Labour members. (Image - Macclesfield Nub News)

"Labour is very supportive of saving Danes Moss," added Tim.

Finally, Nub News pressed the Labour leader about why they should vote for Macclesfield's Labour parliamentary candidate.

"The fact that he has already started lobbying me, on behalf of what he hopes will be his constituents.

Tim Roca iterated his support for the public campaign to 'SAVE DANES MOSS', in south Macclesfield.

"What Macclesfield needs is a strong advocate, who is going to absolutely champion their cause. It will be a big change, obviously if it goes Labour.

"But if it does go Labour, it will mean that Macclesfield has voted for change.

"We will humbly represent that and Tim will be in my ear, arguing as he has already been this afternoon, because he is so passionate about the area and the people that he wants to represent.

Logos representing the seven candidates standing in the General Election for Macclesfield on July 4. (Image - Macclesfield Nub News)

"But I would say this, change only happens if you vote for it, and no vote has been cast on general election day yet. And we know we have to humbly earn every vote and that is what we will be doing now until 10pm on Thursday, when the general election is held because we know it is such an important election."

When asked as to what Mr Roca was lobbying about, Sir Keir joked "A number of things, but I am not going to dispose of that at the moment!"

The visit of the Labour leader follows high profile visits to Macclesfield, along with Lord Cameron, Emily Thornberry, Andy Burnham and Angela Rayner.